Increase health, death benefits to village dads

Boulevard’s mass zumba “attack”! More than 400 fitness enthusiasts joined the first zumba marathon which is the fitting culmination of Laro’t Saya sa Parke, a joint program of the Philippine Sports Commission and the Local Government Unit of Dumaguete. Enthusiastic participants including foreign nationals joined the two-hour zumba marathon at the Pantawan sa Boulevard.

The Liga ng mga Barangays Dumaguete City Chapter headed by Kag. Marife Cordova is asking the office of the City Mayor to allocate funds for health care and death benefits to all barangay officials in the city as provided for under Ordinance No. 259 series of 2010 during the meeting of the Liga ng mga Barangays Thursday afternoon.

Under the ordinance, there shall be an annual ceiling of P15,000 to cover medicine, room and board, surgery, laboratory and other medical-related expenditures of each official.

In case of death, a financial aid of P20,000 is given to the beneficiary’s family. This benefit will not bar them from availing the city’s funeral services.

The ordinance was introduced by then City Councilor and now Board Member Nilo Sayson during the incumbency of then Mayor and now 2nd Dist. Rep. Manuel Sagarbarria but was never implemented. In fact, the Office of the City Treasurer said they only found out that such an ordinance existed when Kag. Cordova and the officers brought it up.

As response, Mayor Felipe Remollo promised to implement the ordinance as soon as possible and gave assurances of a bigger appropriation in next year’s budget.